Montgomery Parks COVID-19 Information

Montgomery Parks' has currently closed all indoor park facilities to the public, our skate park, and the cancelation of all programs, classes, and events through June 30, 2020. To learn more, and prior to visiting any of our parks or trails, we ask that you visit MontgomeryParks.org/COVID-19 for additional information and answers to frequently asked questions. Please enjoy some of our Explore From Home programming and our new Montgomery Parks Trailheads with Parking Map.

The Dog Parks Site Suitability (DPSS) Study will be used as a reference tool for future park design and development projects. It may also help identify locations for temporary pop-up dog park events such as the “Yappy Hour” at Elm Street Park.

This is a suitability study to investigate possible options for future dog parks. Sites identified in this study do not guarantee the construction of a future dog park facility, nor limit the possibility of a dog park facility at other parks in the County.

Please note, a major tenet of the Montgomery Parks mission is to steward parks natural and historic resources and “… balance demand for recreation with the need for conservation”. Likewise, we are bound by the Environmental Guidelines and cannot build new dog parks in environmentally sensitive areas, such as stream buffers, floodplains, and forested areas.

Purpose

The study will:

help guide the location design and development of future dog parks in high-density areas of the County;

serve as a reference tool for pop-up event planning; and

outline several different types of dog facilities that may be suitable for various locations.

Methodology

The DPSS Study first defined the Study Area as a half-mile radius from areas zoned for townhouses and/or multi-family homes.

Parks within the half-mile Study Area were inventoried for their existing facilities, cultural resources, natural resources (such as stream buffers or floodplains), and other relevant factors.

The parks within the Study Area were then scored according to the following criteria:

The highest scoring parks were then evaluated by Park Management and Operations staff in each Park Management region using their day-to-day knowledge of park maintenance and operations to determine the feasibility of each candidate site.

The next step is to solicit public input on these highest scoring parks. Once the review is complete, the Study will provide a list of preferred sites for future implementation by the Park Development Division as facility planning opportunities arise.

Public Input

Locations suggested by this study do not limit the possibility of a dog park facility at other parks in the County. Ideas and comments from the public are welcome throughout the study process. The community is encouraged to visit Montgomery Parks Open Town Hall webpage to review parks in each Regional Services Center area:

Regional Services Center Areas

Maps of Candidate Sites in the Regional Services Center area can be viewed here:

Contact Us

As noted above, locations identified in this study do not preclude the possibility of a dog park facility at other parks in the County. Ideas and comments from the public are welcome throughout the process. The public is welcome to:

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